Chapter 287 - Criteria to be a Demon King Candidate

Han Wu defeated three groups of life forms in the Hell Civilization, earning 1,030 Demonic Origin. It was not enough to enhance any of his body parts yet.

While raiding one of the dens, he discovered a stone slab inscribed with ancient words. Using the knowledge he gained at Imperial College, he spent three hours decoding the message. The inscription detailed how the training ground was built, its purpose, the power scaling system, and a list of the races and life forms found there.

All life forms in the training ground were divided into nine classes. Han Wu had been killing Class 1 and Class 2 life forms, which corresponded to Common and Elite ranks. Class 3 equated to Unique life forms, Class 4 to Heroic, and so on. He grew eager to face life forms at Class 7 and above, as these exceeded the power of King life forms.

The inscription also revealed information about the races he had encountered today. He had been battling Lesser Demons, a race of low-ranking demons. They possessed only a single White body part: their strong teeth, which increased their biting force. Han Wu doubted their teeth would grow much stronger even if upgraded to Stage 9, given their limited quality. Their biting force would remain little more than a glorified nutcracker.

The stone slab also recorded the demons’ power rankings, classifying those with one to three enhanceable body parts as Inferior demons, those with four to six as Intermediate, and those with seven to nine as Superior.

Any demon with nine or more enhanceable body parts ranked among the most gifted and stood as a candidate to become the next Demon Emperor.

Han Wu scoffed when he read the stone slab.

Nine or more enhanceable parts make one a candidate for Demon Emperor? I have fifteen. Does that make me the strongest potential Demon Emperor? I have to admit, Imperial College treats its students well.

Pride swelled within him until his interface suddenly flashed on without warning. Only 102 Demon Lords remained. One had just died.

Panic set in. He was in Hell Civilization’s newest training ground not to admire the culture but to seize resources, become a Demon King, and ascend into a God. He needed to speed up.

Killing Inferior demons felt like a waste of time. With fifteen body parts to enhance to Stage 9, it would take forever if he only hunted weak foes. He had to target stronger demons.

He scanned the stone slab again and settled on his next target, the Intermediate Stone Demons. They had four enhanceable body parts, matured into Class 4 demons, and traveled in packs.

They were Han Wu’s perfect prey, but one troubling problem stood in the way of killing them. The Stone Demons excelled at hiding, always blending seamlessly within stone caves. If he failed to search thoroughly, he would never find a single one.

Han Wu considered various methods to locate them but found nothing concrete. In the end, he had to rely on his instincts and luck. He soared high above the land and scanned the terrain below until he spotted a massive mountain. Looking down, he saw nothing but black and gray slate. No plants grew there; the ground lay bare, covered only with slate, stones, and boulders.

Based on what he had learned from the stone slab, Han Wu suspected the Stone Demons hid there. He stood atop the mountain peak and started twisting his body. He drew Steely’s innate talent, embedded in his four arms, and summoned a powerful gust of wind. The air swirled around him, forming a tornado that engulfed the entire mountain. He then used Steely’s talent to read the wind’s movements to detect any unnatural stones.

The wind caused some stones to vibrate incessantly. He immediately recognized them as Stone Demons. The gusts disturbed them enough to move slightly but caused no damage severe enough to provoke a counterattack.

Without hesitation, he leapt down and propelled himself forward toward the Stone Demons with his powerful Tigerman Legs. The demons could no longer remain hidden once they sensed an enemy approaching. They all sprang from their hiding places, revealing their terrifying forms.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

None of the demons here were weak. Though the Stone Demons appeared gentle and mellow, Han Wu had already noticed the solidified black blood caked around their joints. It was clear they had slain many demons before.

Han Wu paid no mind to whether they seemed peaceful or hostile as he started killing them. The demons and Han Wu struck simultaneously. His Dragon Claws proved tough and strong enough to crack the stone-clad fists of the Stone Demons. He crushed the first one easily. The overwhelming power of his Dragon Claws was the Stone Demons’ bane.

Like a wolf among sheep, Han Wu tore through the tens of Stone Demons hiding nearby. The wind swept past, scattering their stone powder and leaving only a single heart-shaped stone where they fell.

Curious, Han Wu picked it up and inspected its data.

[Stone Heart (Blue, Stage 4): One of the enhanceable body parts of a Stone Demon. Has a chance to drop upon death. The holder can draw energy from stones.

Effects: Increases energy absorption from stones by 250%.

Compatibility: 5% (Can be grafted if compatibility is 60% or above. Higher compatibility strengthens the Stone Heart’s effects.)]

“Interesting,” he muttered. “According to this data, I can graft it onto a compatible life form to grant them its power. Once grafted, the life form gains a new body part.”

Body parts with special effects were rarer and more powerful than Skills in the Divine Civilization. This difference arose from how restrictions worked in other civilizations. Usually, foreign civilizations could suppress the Skills of the Divine Civilization, but they likely could not block the effects tied directly to body parts.

Therefore, the Stone Heart was a valuable asset to the Divine Civilization. Han Wu was certain he could sell it for a high price back home, but he had no intention of doing so. Instead, he planned to use it on his own races. With so many under his control, there was no reason to hand the Stone Heart to anyone else.

He held the Stone Heart and checked the amount of Demonic Origin earned from killing the Stone Demons. He grinned when he saw that defeating ten or more Class 4 Stone Demons granted him over 10,000 Demonic Origin.

Each Stone Demon rewarded him with thousands of Demonic Origin. With that wealth, he could upgrade his only Blue Cockroach Cells to the next stage.

Han Wu acted immediately. His Cockroach Cells soon advanced to Stage 2, sending a warm tingling sensation throughout his body. He sensed that reaching Stage 3 would awaken a new trait in the cells. That possibility energized him and sparked his curiosity about the potential trait.